[10] When American Masters executive producer Susan Lacy read about the project, she began a three-year pursuit to acquire the television rights to the documentary.

[11] Lacy said: "Shane's film is an extraordinary piece of work; the more recognition Salinger received, the more reclusive and enigmatic he became, refusing all interviews and trying to block all coverage.

"[12] On February 27, 2013, it was announced that producer Harvey Weinstein had acquired the documentary for theatrical distribution after being the only studio head to see the finished film following the 85th Academy Awards.

The website's critics consensus reads: "A so-so documentary about a fascinating personality, Salinger has moments of insight but is too often bogged down by reenactments and a lack of attention to the man's actual writings.

"[22] Marlow Stern of The Daily Beast also wrote a piece after the Telluride premiere, saying "it is truly unbelievable how much research went into the making of this film, and it shows on screen," adding that Salinger is "equal parts fascinating and exploitative, but one can’t deny the astounding level of comprehensiveness on display.

"[23] Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars, saying "insightful gems are unearthed throughout the flawed but engrossing Salinger...it's an exhaustively researched look at a compelling subject.

"[27] Mike Scott of The Times-Picayune gave the documentary four out of five stars, calling it "comprehensive, authoritative and exhaustively researched...on the whole, Salinger is an engrossing and eye-opening film.

Handy cited its many re-enactments, dubious use of personalities such as Martin Sheen as Salinger authorities, and "unforgivable use of corny cinematic devices to fill in the gaps and goose its own drama."

"[32] Calling the film "the ultimate invasion of the author's privacy," Odie Henderson from RogerEbert.com found it "stalkerish," featuring "a creepy parade of people who were willing to hunt Salinger down in the hopes of getting answers to their psychological issues."

"[35] Also in The Huffington Post, Marshall Fine called the film "an overblown, overlong documentary about a famous writer, with little that is either truly revealatory or earth-shaking, at least if you've been paying attention at all for the past, oh, 50 years."

"[37] Despite "a few genuine gems" of information, wrote Andrew Barker in Variety, the film is marked by a "restless, ill-fittingly bombastic style," "jumpy cuts" and a "wildly inappropriate score" that is "almost comically out of sync with the subject, full of Zimmerian sub-bass pulses and saccharine string swells.